How Much Does Home-Field Advantage Matter With Minnesota Teams?

How much does having a home-field advantage in sports really matter? Do our teams actually have a higher chance of winning when they play in Minnesota? According to statistics professor Michael Lopez, also the Director of Data and Analytics for the NFL, we may finally have an answer to those questions!

Lopez is currently writing a paper titled "How Often Does The Best Team Win: A Unified Approach to Understanding Randomness in North American Sport," which also looked at the importance of home-field advantage. He produced a chart that shows every major sports team with their estimated home advantage and probability of beating an equal caliber opponent at home, and the results were pretty interesting for Minnesota:

- The Minnesota Timberwolves were #17 on the list, and the highest-ranked Minnesota team. They're still middle-of-the-pack compared to other NBA teams. Apparently the Wolves really do need you cheering them on at the Target Center!

- The Vikings are #44 on the list, and have a moderately higher chance of winning at home. I feel like after a few more years of playing inside US Bank Stadium, they should be ranked higher (FYI the Packers are ranked #50).

- The Wild are #67, and towards the top of the list of NHL teams. We are the State of Hockey, after all.

- Finally, the Twins have one of the best home-field advantages in MLB, but baseball in general